Shoe Dazzle!

Have you ever heard of Shoe Dazzle? I was introduced to it by my lovely girl friends who are slightly obsessed with shoes. I, on the other hand, shop anywhere I can buy a pair for $20 or less and they don't kill my feet. And, I don't do heels. period. It is physically impossible for me to walk in them. I'm not sure if I failed that course in womanhood or maybe it's because I'm off balanced because I'm top heavy... (or bottom heavy would be a better way of saying it.) :) Anywho, I had a revelation. Yes, a full blown revelation- that is was high time for me to grow up. My closet screams college and my shoes scream homeless person! No, seriously, I am currently wearing shoes that have paint on them. (I'm allowed one homeless pair.)

And that is exactly how and why I found Shoe Dazzle. Listen to how genius this is, people. Someone out there in cyber space goes shopping for shoes just for you, emails them to you. If you don't like them, they will shop for five more pair and email them to you again. You pick your pair and walah! They show up on your front door step in your size and all for $39.95. That's right ANY pair of shoe for $39.95. Now, we're not talking Payless brand, people. Designer shoes for $40 bucks. And don't worry if you would rather spend that $40 that month on say, dinner with your hubby. You have from the 1st of the month until the 5th of the month to decline your shoe offer. Simple as that. You don't want them, you don't have to have them. Just wait til next month or the month after that.

My first selection: is Charlotte and I do love Charlotte. These shoes are a espadrille wedge heal slingback that are so comfy. I got them just in time for this warm weather!

I can't wait til May 1st to see my next selection! And if you haven't tried Shoe Dazzle you should! http://www.shoedazzle.com/

Weekend Review: Girls Trip

I needed a break from the normal routine. Do you know what I mean? You know when your Saturdays are filled with cooking, cleaning and laundry and you forgot what a weekend really is...or COULD be. Me, and two of my best friends loaded up the car Friday after work and headed to see another best friend in Louisiana with absolutely no agenda, other than spend some QT with best friends. And that is exactly what we did. We shopped, we ate, we laughed, we watched movies, we napped and we ate some more. It was Andrea's 27th birthday and I realized it this weekend, I have been friends with these girls for 5 years now and it has been the best five years of my life. They are a blessing to me! I just wish I had met them sooner! :) Since I am from Louisiana I was able to meet up with a couple of my childhood friends as well. Most people can't say that they are STILL friends with the same people they were in elementary school and high school but I am blessed to say that I am. It's neat to me when my college friends come together with my childhood friends and get along just as if they have known each other all of their lives. Love it! I am blessed.

Happy Earth Day!

Today really is one of my favorite days of the year! In the past few years, I have really tried hard to be more aware of not only WHAT I am using but HOW I am using it.

• We say no to paper towels, napkins and paper plates! Cloth napkins and real plates are so much prettier anyway. I mean why in the world did we register for them if we aren't going to use them, right?


• When painting, we use low or no VOC's paint.


• We wash our clothes in cold water - ALWAYS! (I use Third Generation laundry detergent.)


• We rewear our clothes again before we wash them. We use our towels AT LEAST three or four times before washing. Most of the time I use the same towels all week!


• an easy one - We TURN OFF LIGHTS and unplug appliances not in use! (And we ALWAYS use energy saving light bulbs.)


• We do NOT use plastic bags. We bring your own bags to the grocery store. I am STILL using up plastic bags from THREE years ago (before I started bringing my own bags). If you DO have plastic bags, they make great lunch sacks or poop bags for cleaning the litter box or cleaning up after your pup in the park. (However I would NOT reccommend using the same sack for both lunch AND a poop bag. Yucky!)


• We recycle everything that can be recycled! If friends come over to our house, they KNOW not to throw away glass, plastic, cans, paper, etc. Just make it a household habit. You would be surprised how much can be recycled if you just take the time to do it!


• set the thermostat up high (78 degrees) in the summer and down low in the winter (66 degrees). You can put on a sweatshirt in the winter - I promise you will not freeze. And honestly 77 or 78 degrees in the summer is NOT hot. And just think of the $$ you will be saving!


• I make our cleaning products using natural products like vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda and water! This is so much safer for pets too.


• We buy our produce locally at the Farmer's Market. Yum! It's so much better tasting!

These are just a FEW of the things the Buies do at our house on a daily basis. They really are easy and you can start them today!

Other "green" things I WANT to do oneday but haven't yet:

• Buy a rain barrel to preserve the fallen rain to water our yard.
  
• Start a compost pile.


• Trade in my SUV for a vehicle that gets better gas mileage


• Plant a vegetable garden and an herb garden


• other suggestions?

Happy Earth Day!

Family Shoot Preview

Have you checked out my photography blog yet? It's just getting started! I just posted a new blog about my most recent photo shoot this past Sunday. This was a special one to me. I'm a sucker when it comes to grandparents.

Here's a preview! Head on over to http://www.carabethphotography.com/ to see more!

Give-A-way!

Lookin for a little give-a-way LOVE? Head on over to my friend, Lindsey's blog. She is giving these away! I secretly hope that I win, but I wanted you to have a chance to hear about this fabulous give-a-way too! :) These have been on my wish list for over a year! I've just been waiting on someone really nice to buy them for me. (hint. hint.) I know that Scooter and Conner would LOVE these containers!

Conner, lounging on the porch

Scooter, soaking wet and loving it!

Cara Beth Photography - new blog

Hi, y'all! So I've started a little blog for my photography. http://www.carabethphotography.com/ Have you checked it out yet? Right now it is slim and bare, yes, I do realize it needs some work. But for now, go check it out and follow me, especially if you are in the Central Arkansas area. I will update my calendar, announce special season promotions and best of all, post my latest photoshoots here. So, go follow me. My followers list is looking mighty sad right now! :(

And if you need your picture taken, don't hesitate to shoot me an email! I would love to meet you, then to SHOOT you! hehe.

Weekend Review & a Recipe

This past weekend was simply grand. Friday night I snuggled on the couch with my B and watch endless episodes of our favorite, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." - Haven't seen it? You should! Funny show! Hil-ar-ious! Saturday morning I had some last minute company come see me, which meant last minute cleaning FRENZY! It was my aunt & uncle from Louisiana. They got the grand tour of the Buie Estate (ha!) and then they took me to lunch. The rest of my Saturday was filled with cleaning and preparing for more company later than evening. Six of our dear friends came over Saturday night to grill out, eat and hang out. We had the best time! We are lovin' this Spring weather and hope to grill out more often! I am truly blessed with the greatest friends here in Arkansas.

Saturday night I made a strawberry trifle that everyone seemed to love and I thought I would share it with my blogger friends as well, so here goes. This is my sister-in-law's recipe - I must give credit where credit is due. :)

image found here

Strawberry Trifle:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
1 1/2 cups water
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 angelfood cake (I use a gluten free yellow cake mix)
1 container Cool Whip, thawed (I use fat free)
2 quarts stawberries, sliced (or other fruit/berries of choice)

Mix milk & water, add pudding mix & blend well, refrigerate for about 5 minutes
Fold cool whip into pudding mixture
In large bowl (or trifle bowl), layber crumbled cake, pudding mixture, then fruit. Repeat layers. Serve immediately or stick in fridge until ready to serve.

**If you like banana pudding you can also substitute the cake for nilla wafers and the strawberries for bananas. Make it your own!

YUM! You'll be addicted!

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Weekend Review (Part 2): Easter Lunch

So, We were just a little bit proud of ourselves Sunday night after everyone had left and the house was quiet...well, as quiet as it can be with FIVE animals (one of whom is a very talkative beagle). Anyway, we did it. We cooked our first full Easter meal for nine people! And it was delicious! Okay, so it really wasn't that big of a deal because we cook for people all the time but this time it was special because we cooked for B's parents AND my parents. I don't think we've all been in the same room since our wedding almost two years ago. Crazy! Anyway, it was so fun to hang out, eat and laugh and just enjoy each other's company. The food wasn't too bad either, if I must say so myself. :)
I was going to go with ALL Pioneer Woman recipes, but at the last minute B decide he wanted to grill a beef tenderloin on the grill. (I think he felt left out.) ;) So the Pot Roast got replaced by a scrumptious beef tenderloin. I'll have to blog the recipe soon. It was amazing!
Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Whiskey-Glazed Carrots

My mother-in-law brought green beans with bacon on top! Yum! Everyone else had Hawaiian rolls. I decided not to make any gluten free rolls for me this time. For dessert we had a strawberry trifle that is my sister-in-law's recipes, and brownies and lemon bars that my mom made! I was stuffed!

I hope your Easter was wonderful! This one will definitely be one we won't quickly forget. Everyone voted that they want us to have Easter at our house EVERY year. ;) I'd be okay with that.

Weekend Review (Part 1): Nursery & Jewelry

I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends! My parents came up this weekend and were put to work! I took this Friday off to help paint my nephew's room. He'll be here in July and his room is coming together nicely! Since they are having a boy and my brother is more than a little obsessed with the Dallas Cowboys they are decorating the nursery with Dallas apparel - but very tastefully - I must add. (no huge star logos anywhere to be found!) They have almost decided on a name but I don't think it's a definite - not definite enough to post on my blog yet anyway - sorry! But I will be holding him in my arms before long! I can't wait! Here is my handsome brother and his beautiful bride and their Build-a-Bear Cowboy's player for their new little one due on JULY 4th (one day before our second anniversary)! Saturday morning I hosted a Silpada jewelry party at my home and had a great time visiting with friends, my mom and sister-in-law. My sister-in-law, Nicole, sells Silpada jewelry and I hadn't had a party in a while so I thought why not, right?! I'm always up for a girls party! I can't wait to get in my new pieces that I ordered. Here are a few of the pieces I'm getting in.
My weekend was so jammed packed, I couldn't fit it into one blog post. More to come later on Easter's lunch menu! Yum! :)

Guess What!?

We're pregnant!





Okay not really! but I told my mom that this morning and she was NOT happy, especially since I told her over facebook...and then especially since I reminded her it was April 1st. It was almost as good as the time when I told her I ruined my wedding dress a few months before my wedding. I sent her an email and had this whole long story about how my dog, Conner, got a hold of a Sharpie marker and went to town on my brand new wedding dress my mother had just purchased for my big day. Once again, NOT HAPPY! You would THINK, she would put this date on her calendar but no. My sweet momma is so gullible.
I really do love this day...and for no other reason that seeing just how many times I can fool my momma. :)

April Fools to you all! Hope you get someone good today!